Specials

Valentine's Day Special Menus & More

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by enjoying our special vintage themed pre-fixe menu! The full menu will be up soon, but expect multiple courses at $65/head (not including tax, booze, or gratuity). We’ll also have some special wine pairings available. Keep an eye on vivianavl.com for updates!

The restaurant was just opening after their holiday break, but they pick up like nothing. The food was amazing in both flavor and presentation. They were very accommodating about my party having two wheelchairs. Would recommend and go back again.

We came to celebrate New Year's Day morning with a special purpose for the six of us being together. Vivian was JUST what we needed. First time for four of us, but for me it's starting to feel like home. The service is what one would hope for, as in, "Welcome home, again." Such fun. We were not rushed; we felt loved. And the food...oh, my goodness. We left, grateful and joyful. Thank you, Vivian staff, you're doing something special there.

As usual Vivian sets the bar even higher for other AVLrestaurants. Delightful service, amazingly wonderful food and a good time is always had there because all the folks who work there are great. There at least once a month and they never fail to draw raves from not only us but every person we’ve introduced to Vivian.

Absolutely fantastic place to eat. We came in for Sunday brunch and we ordered the deviled eggs, the land of the sea and the corned beef hash. All were great, however, our favorite was the deviled eggs. Would highly recommend and come back for dinner.

Great experience from the service to the food and atmosphere. Nice selection of interesting items some off the beaten path a bit. Wish I could have tried more... excuse to come back. The flounder and beef were great.

Service and food and -beverages all combined to create a special evening for a 40-yr reunion with two of my college roommates. Everyone at the restaurant went out of their way to make it a wonderful night.

Not quite as expected. Some of the plates are good though others not quite. People are friendly but there is experience missing in the kitchen... some plates are just not where they should be for the money. Too plain and not creative, daring enough. If you charge what Vivian charges, you expect more. The restaurant is also VERY loud and small so little privacy. 'Fine dinning is not only about the food...it's also about the right music, atmosphere and vibe...

Ugh. Over priced. Sterile ambience. Five of us ate there and inspite of the variety of dishes, the entire palette of the food was Brady bunch brown. Over complicated and salty. And the prices? High end New York, which is inexplicable in this burgeoning but not so worldly place.

It was our anniversary and when we sat down we were presented with a complimentary glass of champagne! Nice touch! Nicole was our server and she was excellent! We shared everything, in order to taste several things. The fillet was incredible, as was the foie gras. Never had baby turnips...they were really yummy. This was our second visit. The first time, the restaurant was new and it was painfully loud. Sound panels have been hung and the noise level was fine. We could talk quietly with each other. A very different kind of restaurant for the arts district, but love the creativity and excellent food and service. Great job!

First: the food is supreme, but was tarnished by poor service: it took about 30 mins to get waited on (and by four diff't servers) between most courses, and servers gave very little eye-contact or human connection (something I enjoy since dining is not just about getting served quickly by robots). Its also hard to connect with four different servers, so that part was totally confusing.

We were seated quickly, but then waited about 20 mins for drinks - always a bad sign, then about 30 mins each between apps, small & large plates. This was easily the longest delay I've ever seen at a high end AVL restaurant (esp on a not-busy night). We skipped w/ dessert after waiting 10 mins for that menu, then realized it'd be another 20 min wait (not counting the check).

Again - great food, textures, flavors, presentation (etc) but when that is delivered by a fleet of vacant servers who can't arrive on time, connect, or make us feel welcome in our hometown at $200, its a wash. Clearly other reviewers here had better service than we did, but for as long as Vivian has been open, I expect blips like this to be long ironed out - esp simple human recognition.

Wish I could say I'd return, but w/ service this bad, I dont' see much reason to return. Its way overpriced for such bad vibe on service.

I can’t wait to come back to Vivian. The service was amazing, from the person who greeted us behind the bar to our wonderfully attentive but unobtrusive and friendly server. The attention to small details, like changing our silverware between courses and swiftly removing our table of crumbs was done efficiently and unpretentiously. Upon being seated we were invited to peruse the beverage program which was well curated and creative. My partner had a dirty gin martini hat was honestly one of the most balanced we’ve had dining out. While we were intrigued by the small plates, (and will come back to try them!) the entrees were more compelling this particular night. I had the seared scallops, which came with cowpeas, a cauliflower and red pepper giardiniera, Crete fraîche and caviar. The scallops were perfectly seared, and the bretonne sauce was a perfect compliment to the giardiniera. Even he garnish was delicious. My partner had the tournedos rossini, which festered bacon wrapped filet mignon, cooked just on the medium side of rare 😏, seared foie gras, truffles, and a piece of toast that soaked up every last drop of the sherry demi-glacé that was honestly practically drinkable.The restaurant itself is cozy without feeling cramped, and we really appreciated the 80s playlist that was loud enough to give us a few laughs but not at all intrusive. A good excuse to get over to the river arts district, Vivian is definitely going on our list for go to great food, atmosphere and service.

We went with two couples on a Friday evening, were seated right away, and all the service was very attentive and friendly. I did not like the menu selections for large plates, too heavy, too much red meat. The $9 salad I ordered was rather pathetic, very small and greens were tough. The watercress soup was very good. The $12 glass of cabernet sauvignon tasted like something that should be $12 per bottle. The omelette souffle I ordered was ok, very impressive looking. Overall, we spent $128 including tip, for 2 people, and I don't feel we got our money's worth. Nonetheless, the service and the facility are very good.

Our recent Wednesday evening visit to Vivian's was thoroughly enjoyable with great food and superb service. Our waiter, Jordan, was pleasant, prompt and helpful. Sarah (the bartender?) was also very friendly and accomodating and chilled our slightly too warm red wine for us quickly.

The Smoked Oysters with Pickled Shrimp are wonderful; lightly smoked and just a bit warm. The Grilled Cauliflower with Pickled Golden Raisins and the Grilled Tradivo with Warm Polenta, Blue Cheese and Pine Nuts salads were delicious and unusual but delightful combinations. The Steelhead Trout was cooked to perfection and the Braised Red Cabbage and Confit Celery were wonderful accompaniments. The filet in the Tournedos Rossini was super tender and cooked exactly to order and the Sherry Demi Glace was sumptous and rich, but I thought the bacon wrap on the filet was to smoky and overpowered the steak flavor a little too much. I recommended and unsmoked bacon or Pancetta as a substitute.

We had an excellent dinner at Vivian last week. The food was very well prepared and the service was great. It was not too crowded when we were there, so we were able to carry on a normal conversation too.

Our third dining experience here confirms that Vivian is among the top 2-3 best restaurants in this foodie town. Stellar bar service, impeccable food, hospitality at its finest! And now the best brunch in town!

One of the best new restaurants in Asheville. Very creative, distinctive menu that fit the fall season. Good, friendly, knowledgeable service. All dishes—appetizers, entrees and deserts—were impressive. Great place.